For 20-plus years, a group of men have been meeting to discuss the content, character, and Christian caliber of whatever book we have chosen to read together. We have been blessed beyond measure for many reasons: coffee, donuts, camaraderie and, above all, learning and loving the heart of the main characters of the books and what they taught us by their lives, labors, and often their last days upon this planet. The book that we just finished is like no other book we have ever read. The title is The Insanity of God, and the author is Nik Ripken (a pseudonym, for reasons that will become obvious).
I was turned off by the title when I first saw it on a list of recommended reading compiled by a person whose judgement I respect. The Insanity of God? Sounds a bit sacrilegious, I thought. In spite of those reservations, I ordered the book for our group and would later conclude it is indeed one of the most unusual books I have ever read.
The author grew up on a farm in Kentucky and was saved as a teenager. He was called to preach, studied for the ministry (Bible college and seminary), and pastored for a few years before acknowledging that God wanted him to take the gospel to some place where it had never been, or to a place that would be difficult to do any evangelization. When he applied for missionary status, the board asked him why he felt called to be a missionary. He responded that he had read in Matthew 28 that Jesus said, “Go,” and he was willing to go. Well, after considerable deliberation, the august board did appoint Nik to “Go.” Someone suggested to him that Somalia would be a difficult place to evangelize, so Nik moved his family to Kenya, from whence he would go back and forth to Somalia in his missionary ministry.
Fast forward from the early 1990s to the present day. Nik and his wife Ruth have ministered in about 60 different nations—places that we would label as restricted or closed to missionary work. In the course of those years, Nik met with and listened to the testimonies of hundreds of believers who had been persecuted for Christ’s sake. He carefully recorded, in his memory bank, the incredible stories that the men and women, meeting in secret, shared about God’s grace in the face of the most unrelenting persecution. Of the many countries in which he met with these 20th century heroes of the faith, Nik said that his time spent in China had impacted him the most. He learned that there were 100 million Christians in China, cut off so completely from the rest of civilization that they were unaware of the fact that Christians existed in other nations, by the millions, worldwide. This revelation staggered the Chinese believers when they learned of it, causing them to shout, cry, and give thanks to God for His marvelous grace.
But, I want to relate a story that Nik says came out of Russia. It is a story about a man who was sentenced to 17 years in a Russian prison, separated from his wife and children, and imprisoned with 1,500 hardened criminals. The believer, Dimitri, was thrown into a cell just barely big enough to turn around in. The unbelievers, learning of Dimitri’s faith, did all they could possibly do to make life miserable for this fellow prisoner, who had a song in his heart that he would sing every night, a “Heart Song,” prompting the prison population to curse him, throw trash and feces at him, and do any other wicked thing they could think of. Dimitri never wavered though. Night after night, for 17 years, he would end the day facing the east, with arms stretched out toward heaven, singing his “Heart Song” to God.
This continued until the day of Dimitri’s release from prison. As he was marched toward the exit, a most unusual incident occurred: 1,500 criminals stood at attention, raising their arms toward heaven, singing the “Heart Song” that they had heard Dimitri sing for 17 years. A Read You Won’t Forget
For 20-plus years, a group of men have been meeting to discuss the content, character, and Christian caliber of whatever book we have chosen to read together. We have been blessed beyond measure for many reasons: coffee, donuts, camaraderie and, above all, learning and loving the heart of the main characters of the books and what they taught us by their lives, labors, and often their last days upon this planet. The book that we just finished is like no other book we have ever read. The title is The Insanity of God, and the author is Nik Ripken (a pseudonym, for reasons that will become obvious).
I was turned off by the title when I first saw it on a list of recommended reading compiled by a person whose judgement I respect. The Insanity of God? Sounds a bit sacrilegious, I thought. In spite of those reservations, I ordered the book for our group and would later conclude it is indeed one of the most unusual books I have ever read.
The author grew up on a farm in Kentucky and was saved as a teenager. He was called to preach, studied for the ministry (Bible college and seminary), and pastored for a few years before acknowledging that God wanted him to take the gospel to some place where it had never been, or to a place that would be difficult to do any evangelization. When he applied for missionary status, the board asked him why he felt called to be a missionary. He responded that he had read in Matthew 28 that Jesus said, “Go,” and he was willing to go. Well, after considerable deliberation, the august board did appoint Nik to “Go.” Someone suggested to him that Somalia would be a difficult place to evangelize, so Nik moved his family to Kenya, from whence he would go back and forth to Somalia in his missionary ministry.
Fast forward from the early 1990s to the present day. Nik and his wife Ruth have ministered in about 60 different nations—places that we would label as restricted or closed to missionary work. In the course of those years, Nik met with and listened to the testimonies of hundreds of believers who had been persecuted for Christ’s sake. He carefully recorded, in his memory bank, the incredible stories that the men and women, meeting in secret, shared about God’s grace in the face of the most unrelenting persecution. Of the many countries in which he met with these 20th century heroes of the faith, Nik said that his time spent in China had impacted him the most. He learned that there were 100 million Christians in China, cut off so completely from the rest of civilization that they were unaware of the fact that Christians existed in other nations, by the millions, worldwide. This revelation staggered the Chinese believers when they learned of it, causing them to shout, cry, and give thanks to God for His marvelous grace.
But, I want to relate a story that Nik says came out of Russia. It is a story about a man who was sentenced to 17 years in a Russian prison, separated from his wife and children, and imprisoned with 1,500 hardened criminals. The believer, Dimitri, was thrown into a cell just barely big enough to turn around in. The unbelievers, learning of Dimitri’s faith, did all they could possibly do to make life miserable for this fellow prisoner, who had a song in his heart that he would sing every night, a “Heart Song,” prompting the prison population to curse him, throw trash and feces at him, and do any other wicked thing they could think of. Dimitri never wavered though. Night after night, for 17 years, he would end the day facing the east, with arms stretched out toward heaven, singing his “Heart Song” to God.
This continued until the day of Dimitri’s release from prison. As he was marched toward the exit, a most unusual incident occurred: 1,500 criminals stood at attention, raising their arms toward heaven, singing the “Heart Song” that they had heard Dimitri sing for 17 years.“ The guards were so taken aback by this, they asked Dimitri who he was, and his answer startled them even more when the soon to be released prisoner said ‘I am a son of the Living God, and Jesus is His name!’”
Well, you may be wondering why I said this is such an unusual book. To borrow a line from the late radio broadcaster Paul Harvey: You will have to read it to “know the rest of the story.” I am pretty sure you will understand why I said it is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. I commend it to you highly—title and all.
“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:46, 47)